That and they're running lots of in-game events until the end of the month summarized here.

XI is an old game but there's some great storylines to play through either solo with Trust magic (like GW1 henchmen) or with a friend.

I've only been playing for a year, and am one of the rare few who's actually come to the game without any sense of nostalgia or previous expectations. It was totally overwhelming and I hated it at first, and now consider it to be the best game I've ever played. So, here are a few notes that people might find helpful.

Some people have a lot of trouble with PlayOnline and your initial account setup. Others don't. In any case, it's pretty cumbersome, and takes some close reading / menu navigation to figure out. Consider it your first boss.

The initial patching will take approximately eight hours, and probably more given how many people are coming back to the game during this campaign.

The PC control scheme basically emulates a PS2 controller, with your left hand being the left analog stick and your right being the right analog stick. If this doesn't sound appealing to you, I'd strongly recommend buying a cheap gamepad. The majority seem to play nice with FFXI. I use a Logitech F310.

FFXI is crawling with all different kinds of battle and quest systems. However, only some of them are really relevant to the new player, the big three being Trust, Unity, and Records of Eminence. Thankfully, the tutorial NPC takes you through all three of these. Completing the tutorial will get you set up with several NPC battle companions and a way to accumulate "sparks," which are a special currency used for basic equipment. Unity provides you with an additional Trust NPC and a method of fast travel to different places around Vana'diel, even ones you haven't yet visited. All of these make your initial steps a lot easier.

Start Rhapsodies of Vana'diel as soon as possible. Rhapsodies was the last major content update and "conclusion" to FFXI, but it's also a frame story that guides you through the base game and the five expansions. Progressing through Rhapsodies will take you through the entire FFXI story, and gives out permanent boosts to your experience point gain. Seriously, stick it out for the story, because it's fantastic.